Posts Tagged ‘Mary Harron’

The next ten in the list of the films I thoroughly enjoyed this past decade.

– – – – – – – – – –

40. CORALINE (2008) – An intricate stop-motion animated film that is dark, sly and astounding. A modern-day Grimm fairy tale filled with eccentric characters and a plucky young heroine. Just thinking about how many puppets it took to create the jumping mice circus blows me away.

39. AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000) – Christian Bale once again plays it to the hilt as the narcissistic serial killer, Patrick Bateman, whose paranoia starts to damage his mannered calm. Coming so soon after Fight Club may have diminished the film’s 3rd Act twist, but it doesn’t keep this film from having an impact. Who can forget the scene where he prepares to dismember a victim to Huey Lewis and the News, or his obsession over a rival’s business card?

38. THE WRESTLER (2008) – The most amazing special effect in this film is Mickey Rourke’s beefy body. His casting comes with an eerie resonance since it’s about a past-his-prime performer trying to stay relevant. I can overlook Rachel Evan Wood’s thankless underwritten role mainly because of his astounding and heartbreaking performance. His self-punishment is intense, visceral and compounded by his desire to relive the glory of his younger days. Devastating.

37. BRICK (2005) – Rian Johnson’s first film is dense with vernacular and mannered camera work that recalls the Coen Brothers earliest films. This is the kind of movie my film school would have frowned upon but that’s not the only reason why I hold it in such high regard. Joseph Gordon Levitt sheds his goofy tv persona to become a film actor.

36. CHILDREN OF MEN (2006) – Breathtaking single-take action sequences punctuate Alfonso Cuaron’s distopian view of the near-future where infertility has numbered the days of humanity — until Clive Owen’s character is tasked to care for the last pregnant woman. Nearly perfect until the last shot hits the nail on the head to bluntly, it’s still a thrilling film to watch.

35. MATCH POINT (2005) – Woody Allen finds a new muse (Scarlett Johanssan) and films in a different country (England) and creates a controlled, suspenseful, thriller that actually has you rooting for Jonathan Rhys-Meyers despite his infidelity and manipulative nature. It’s the least Woody Allen film that still deals with Woody Allen themes. With this one film he almost manages to make me forgive him for dreck like Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

34. SEXY BEAST (2001) – Speaking of astounding performances, I must be a sucker for ham because Ben Kingsley turns it upside down as the sociopathic gangster Don Logan. This film defies the “one more heist” gangster genre and presents a middle-aged man past his prime and willing to do what it takes to maintain his retired lifestyle.

33. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: DIRECTOR’S CUT (2005) – Ridley Scott’s misunderstood epic was neutered for its theatrical release. Thank god for DVD — many scenes fleshing out characters and a very important suplot involving Eva Green and her son are restored, explaining her diminished presence in the third act. Far more satisfying than Gladiator.

32. HEIST (2001) – No one does sleight of hand better than Mamet, and this is his most accomplished film to date. Still mannered and obsessed with creating its own vernacular, and yet it still manages to elevate the con genre. “Everybody needs money. That’s why they call it ‘Money’!”

31. IRON MAN (2008) – This was a surprise and a joy to watch. Jon Favreau takes the Batman Begins approach and gets beneath the armor to give us Tony Stark, played with utter command and dashing derring-do by Robert Downey Jr. One of the best casting choices alongside Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. And while the movie’s third act grinds down into good-guy/bad-guy rock ’em sock ’em CGI robot clash, it’s still one of the best super-hero movies ever.